Traffic stop leads to 100 mph car chase

Published 12:00 am, Saturday, June 12, 2010

TORRINGTON -- A traffic stop north of Torrington on Friday resulted in a high-speed car chase through two counties that eventually ended in Waterbury.

Troopers attempted to stop a white Volkswagen Beetle on the northbound side of Route 8, state police said.

The vehicle was reported by police to be traveling in excess of 100 miles per hour when troopers attempted to stop it.

At 11:15 a.m., they were engaged in a high-speed chase that continued to Granby and East Granby.

"At one point, troopers said they had lost sight of the suspect near Mountain Road," Granby Police Sgt. Doreen Mikan said.

State police Lt. Paul Vance later said the search was called off, and then picked up again as the suspect was seen in Winsted. The driver then led police on a chase south on Route 8 to Waterbury.

State police stopped the chase once it entered the city due to safety reasons and later found the car abandoned. Troopers said "Stop Sticks" were deployed twice during the chase but the suspect continued to drive the vehicle on its wheels after the tires were shredded.

No injuries were reported as a result of the chase, and police remain confident that the suspect will be apprehended. The suspect left his wallet and identification on the seat of the car after he fled, they said.

State police said a police dog had managed to pick up a scent, but later lost it.